Neuqua Valley will battle Downers Grove North in one of the nation's elite contest
Boys-
Teams: #1 Neuqua Valley, #2 Downers Grove North, #5 Hinsdale Central, #19 Minooka, Metea Valley, Glenbard West, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Plainfield North, Yorkville
How good is Neuqua Valley? This may be coach Vandersteen's best team ever. He won the NXN title in 2007. He thinks his current corps is that good despite not having a Chris Derrick type of runner- a thoroughbred if you will. The IL#1/US#3 powerhouse Wildcats should be motivated by dropping down in the national poll a slot. But of course they cannot control subjective minds that rate them. However, they can control who they go out and perform as a team. At the highly touted Richard Spring Invitational, Neuqua Valley produced a 21 second scoring split and destroyed fellow nationally ranked Mahomet-Seymour 65-118. There were 58 complete teams in the field which makes the feat even more impressive. Furthermore this is a Wildcats squad that boasts six runners who can be #1 runner and they all have broken 15:25.
Downers Grove North is having a fantastic season. The US#20 Trojans will meet their toughest test of the season. They come in undefeated when they have assembled their "A" squad which included wins at FTTF, Minooka Flight Invite, and St. Charles Leavy. John Sipple is the head coach and real good one. It is certain he will have his runners play it smart against the savvy Wildcats. But Downers North has several top runners like all-star senior Alec Danner. They also have a nice complementary pack behind them to close out races in low scoring fashion.
Hinsdale Central is always a dangerous team that you have to watch out for. The Red Devils are led by senior Blake Evertsen. Last year Eversten's team finished in the runner up spot despite him leaving for home prior to the meet due to illness. Hinsdale Central may be counted out by some but they are better than some think. They always have a great pack to complement great up front running by its stars. Speaking of stars, Thomas Shilgalis appears to be a rising individual. Just a sophomore, he has put up some impressive marks like the 15:02 last weekend in Peoria. It should be a good battle overall for one of the elite teams in the WSC Silver league.
Look for the individual race to be a burner. Evertsen and Minooka standout senior Soren Knudsen will meet for the third time this season. This will serve as the tie breaker. But there are other solid runners to consider. Danner is a front runner too. Neuqua Valley has two candidates to throw in. Sophomore Zach Kinney and senior Josh Mollway (Sr.) have broken 15:00 for the Wildcats. Teammate senior Jake McEneaney placed second last year. McEneaney has ran in the team's #1 spot on occasion this season. Last year's winning time of 14:58 should be severely challenged Wednesday evening.
2015 Boys highlight reel